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– We know that many young people, especially in East Oslo, feel incapacitated and experience that they have little or no opportunity to influence their local environment or the larger community in which they live. Many are frustrated and overlooked. For some, that frustration results in misbehavior, Trine Skei Grande tells Dagbladet.
She believes that this energy should rather be channeled into political work.
He is now helping to promote an initiative for 16-year-olds in Oslo to vote in the 2023 municipal and district elections. Initially as a pilot project in his own Old Oslo district.
Will change the law
But in the long run, the Liberal Party wants the right to vote for all 16-year-olds, also in parliamentary elections. The party decided it at the national meeting in September. There may also be a change in KrF.
In the proposal for a new party program that was presented just over a week ago, they are in favor of 16-year-olds having the right to vote in local elections.
On KrF’s side, the proposal for the right to vote is linked to its proposal to hold local elections and parliamentary elections at the same time, every four years.
– First of all, we will hold the elections and, as a consequence, we believe that 16-year-olds should have the right to vote. If not, some of them will take so long to exercise their right to vote that we fear it may affect interest in society and democracy, so we have linked this to keep young people engaged.
SV has it all in its party program and the MDGs are in favor too.
32.1 billion for railway investment: – Historical
I think there will be a majority
A government-appointed committee that has drafted a new electoral law is also in favor of voting rights for 16-year-olds. Your proposal is now under consultation.
– I think there will be a majority for this soon. All the research shows that this is a good measure, leading to higher participation among young people. The more people have the right to vote, the more perspectives are presented in politics, says Trine Skei Grande, continuing:
– There are several good arguments. Now there are changes in demographics across Europe which means that the electorate has a predominance of older people, while the young have less influence. It is becoming an imbalance, he says.
– But are 16-year-olds mature enough?
– I have met many 16-year-olds who are more mature than some 70. It is not age specific.
– Today, they have to make many big decisions on behalf of their own lives at a young age, such as choosing an online upper secondary school and education. There is also a much higher proportion with more education than when we expanded to 18 years of education. I think they are well shot, says Grande.
Correct disagree
Conservative government partners, on the other hand, have objections.
– The age of majority in Norway is 18 and so we believe that the voting age should also be the same. A dilemma with 16-year-olds’ voting rights is that you can’t get a credit card, drive a car, or buy beer. At the same time, a 16-year-old can set guidelines for an adult population he’s not a part of, conservative Ove Trellevik tells Dagbladet.
